Filled

I’ve always been a person who likes naps. In my previous job, when I was working multiple timezones, I would find that a quick nap between shifts was all I needed to keep going long hours.

I used to nap in the company clinic. And in there, we had our doctor and nurses who would always greet me with a smile. We would chat, make jokes, and I would, at some point in time, excuse myself to get some needed rest.

We were never close – not in the way of friends who would hang out after work. I didn’t know much about them and they also didn’t know much about me. But in those moments when we chatted, they were very important to me as friendly faces. In the same way that I was important to them to bring a few minutes of silly conversation to spice up the afternoon.

We are a lot like this to a lot of people. Without realizing it, we play roles and fill each other’s lives. Sometimes major roles, sometimes minor ones – but roles just the same. The size of the role we fill in others is not important. What’s important is that we are there to help fill each other.

The janitors who clean up our spaces every day. The officemate who says Good Morning when we meet them in the hallways. The boss who asks how we are doing. The colleagues who make meetings just a little bit better. The relatives who brings laughter to family reunions. The friend who says Hi out of the blue to cheer us up. Life wouldn’t be as pleasant without these people filling our lives.

And of course, we play this part ourselves. We fill others too. And so, if sometimes life hits you hard and you feel unimportant – STOP feeling like that. Don’t sell yourself short. You are more important than you can ever understand. Because you fill other people’s lives too.

Thank you very much for filling my life by reading this blog. I hope I am also able to do my part to fill yours.